Governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia, Ikechi Emenike, has urged he traditional rulers in the state to play active part in the electoral process by voting and mobilising their subjects to vote in the general election.
He made the appeal, at the weekend, during his courtesy visits to traditional rulers in Ohafia and Isuikwuato local governments as he rallies every segment of Abia stakeholders to join hands to rescue and develop the state.
The APC governorship flag-bearer was inundated with complaints about the bad governance which has become the lot of Abia for over two decades and the neglect and humiliations that royal fathers have been subjected to by the state government.
He told the royal fathers that it was not enough to complain that things were not going well in Abia and then wish for things to change for the better without doing anything to stop those holding the state down.
“Ndieze (royal fathers) should vote to change the narrative of the state. You don’t just say enough is enough; you should say it with action,” he told the royal fathers.
According to him, every vote counts hence traditional rulers should not sit back at home on polling day but should join other eligible Nigerians to make a statement with their votes.
Emenike said it would be very regrettable if traditional rulers allow Abia to continue the downward plunge without doing anything to stop it.
He said the idea that traditional rulers should not participate in politics and hold political leaders accountable is untenable hence the royal fathers should break out of that cocoon and insist right things must be done.
The APC governorship candidate said he holds royal fathers in very high esteem and recognises their role as change agents, adding, “I want to partner you to change Abia and I want you to be part of that change.”
In each of the local governments where he interacted with the royal fathers, the common lamentation was the retrogression of Abia and the neglect of the traditional institution.
The royal fathers said the state government has refused to implement the statutory five per cent allocation to traditional rulers, adding that whenever it pleased the governor to pay he would release 0.8 per cent instead of five percent.
They expressed confidence in the capacity and ability of the APC gubernatorial flag-bearer to retrieve Abia from the hands of bad leaders and implement his laudable manifesto for a holistic development of the state.